In Saturday's New York Times, in honor of Martin Luther King Day and Barack Obama's inauguration, columnist George Vecsey and the great Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe (pictured above, center) took a look back at the old days 60-some years ago when black players like Newcombe and Jackie Robinson (left) and Roy Campanella (right) first started playing in the major leagues.It would be wrong to say they were reminiscing, because the word "reminisce" implies a fond remembrance of things past.